Chapter 213: Enrollment
Just as Bu Feiyan stood amidst the carnage, heart pounding with excitement and anticipation, convinced she had once again encountered the mysterious senior who’d saved her before, Wang Haoran emerged slowly from the forest.
Her eyes widened in shock. “You… Scumbag?! How is it you?!”
Wang Haoran smirked, a lazy confidence in his eyes. “What scumbag? I saved your life—twice. Don’t forget who you called Senior last time.”
Bu Feiyan froze, and in that instant, everything clicked. The mysterious savior who had haunted her thoughts wasn’t some venerable old master—it was Wang Haoran. Her mouth opened slightly as she stared, and after a beat, she muttered, “Actually, it’s three times, if we’re being exact.”
She couldn’t help but look him over with fresh eyes. She had always imagined that the person who saved her would be an elder, someone ancient and steeped in experience. But standing before her was someone younger than herself. Not only young—devastatingly handsome.
【Ding! Host reveals peak expert identity. Female Lead Bu Feiyan favorability +50. Current total favorability: 50 (Budding Affection)】
【Ding! Host alters plot progression. Gained 1800 Villain Points. Lin Chen Protagonist Halo -90. Host Villain Halo +90】
The system’s notification surprised Wang Haoran at first, but the numbers made sense. A 50-point jump in favorability might seem exaggerated, but this was the result of multiple accumulated events.
Bu Feiyan wasn’t like Ji Shuiyao, who could remain immune to charm value. With Wang Haoran’s appearance alone, she would’ve already had a base favorability of 20. He had saved her once in the alleyway by sheer coincidence, and twice more since then. Even if he didn’t remember the second time she was referring to, she clearly did.
Three rescues at 10 points each, plus the charm bonus—that added up perfectly. Now that she had confirmed Wang Haoran was the senior she had been searching for, her attitude shifted completely. Gone was the biting tone and righteous anger on behalf of her Seventh Sister. That matter? Forgotten. Left behind like dust on the wind. Partly because she wasn’t the ungrateful type, but more importantly—she couldn’t beat him.
With an almost reverent gaze, she stepped forward and asked in a soft voice, “Senior… how did you cultivate to this level? Can you… teach me?”
“I don’t take disciples,” Wang Haoran said flatly, tone brooking no discussion. He had no plans to teach anyone—nor did he actually have anything to teach.
Disappointed but unwilling to give up, Bu Feiyan quickly added, “I wouldn’t dare dream of being your disciple. I only hope… for a bit of guidance. Just a little!”
Seeing her persistence, Wang Haoran sighed and said, “Give me the short sword you’ve strapped to your thigh.”
Her eyes widened. She was wearing loose pants, and the weapon had been carefully concealed. How did he know?
“You’re amazing, Senior. But… how did you know it was there?” she asked, genuinely awed as she pulled the blade free.
Wang Haoran ignored the question. There was no way he could admit he saw it through X-ray Vision.
Taking the short sword, he made a simple motion—unsheathing it, then sliding it smoothly back into its scabbard. He tossed it back to her, expression inscrutable. “Understand now?”
Bu Feiyan blinked, completely lost. “No… not really.”
Wang Haoran clicked his tongue, feigning disappointment. “Then your aptitude’s just too poor. Go ponder it on your own.”
“Yes!” she said earnestly, nodding like a student before a master.
Wang Haoran resisted the urge to laugh. Not only did she not understand—he didn’t either. He was just bluffing the whole thing.
From behind, Ji Shuiyao walked over slowly with a complicated expression. Her face was pale from the earlier shock, but now it was tinged with something else—doubt.
“You and Seventh Sister… it’s really true?” she asked quietly.
Wang Haoran narrowed his eyes and shot a glance at Bu Feiyan.
This woman had spilled everything—to the letter—about his relationship with Qiu Qianwei. Now Ji Shuiyao had her guard up, which would make it much harder to “maneuver” her again unless her Favorability went up further.
Still, Wang Haoran nodded calmly. “Yes. I’m with your Seventh Sister.”
【Ding! Host triggers jealousy in Female Lead Ji Shuiyao. Gained 400 Villain Points】
【Ding! Host triggers jealousy in Female Lead Bu Feiyan. Gained 200 Villain Points】
Ji Shuiyao tried to smile. “Seventh Sister is so elegant, so gentle. You… make a good match. I wish you both well.”
Bu Feiyan stayed silent, but inwardly, a tinge of envy stirred. Only now did she truly understand why their Seventh Sister, perfect in so many ways, had fallen so deeply for this man.
Wang Haoran glanced at the corpses littering the area. “This place isn’t safe. We should leave.”
The plan to further seduce Ji Shuiyao would have to be shelved. For now. The next day, he took her back to China.
Bu Feiyan remained behind to clean up the mess. Aside from the eight elite Black Mamba assassins who’d been wiped out, there were still other smaller fish to deal with. She would handle them.
—
Back home, Ji Shuiyao didn’t contact Wang Haoran again. Lin Chen remained unusually quiet as well. During this time, Wang Haoran tried reaching out to Ji Shuiyao, but she refused to meet him, clearly keeping her distance.
He didn’t force the issue. Instead, he took the opportunity to rest and recharge.
Before long, the new semester at Qingling University was about to begin. Students from across the country flocked to the campus.
Since Wang Haoran was a local, he didn’t bother showing up early. He waited until the very last day of registration before making his way to the school.
At the campus gates, a reception area had been set up for new students, manned mostly by senior students—both male and female.
As soon as he arrived and signed in, a group of senior girls descended like hungry wolves spotting prey. After a brief round of fawning, they personally escorted him all the way to the freshman dorms, reluctant to part with him even at the door.
Although Wang Haoran planned to live off-campus, such applications took time to process. For now, he’d have to stay in the dorms.
The room was a standard four-person unit, and the other three beds were already claimed.
All three of his roommates were Rich Second Gens.
Liu Hua’s family owned a restaurant empire, worth around 5 billion. Lu Ming’s family ran a massive chain of supermarkets—about 3.5 billion. The last, Pang Zhihang, came from a seafood trading company, assets estimated at 1 billion.
With backgrounds like that, the trio naturally carried themselves with arrogance—walking stereotypes of the disposable villain cannon-fodder template.
But Wang Haoran was no ordinary villain.
With a Villain Halo value of 3696, the sheer aura he radiated made lesser villains instinctively defer to him. The three quickly acknowledged him as their Big Brother, organizing themselves into ranks based on family wealth.
The dorm became a picture of harmony—liquor flowing, laughter echoing.
Wang Haoran didn’t mind associating with these arrogant scions. In fact, he welcomed it.
With their mocking attitudes and flashy behavior, they were bound to attract Protagonist Halos sooner or later.
And unlike before, Wang Haoran no longer needed to tread carefully.
He had grown powerful enough to take on multiple protagonists at once.